Calories burned
sit
129 kcal / hour Sit burns approximately 129 calories per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, and 64 calories in 30 minutes. Across the normal adult weight range the hourly figure runs from about 92 to 221 kcal.
It carries a MET value of 1.75 in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which lists 2 measured variations of this activity from MET 1 to 2.5.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REVIEWED JUL 2026
MET 1.75 × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 2.14 kcal/min × 30 min = 64 kcal
Source—2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities—ACSM energy equation—retrieved 2026-07
How this is worked out
- Take the MET value for sit from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: MET 1.75, the median of its 2 measured variations (MET 1–2.5).
- Convert MET to a rate using the ACSM relationship: multiply by 3.5, then by body mass in kilograms, then divide by 200. That gives kilocalories per minute.
- Multiply the rate by the number of minutes actually spent.
- Round to whole kilocalories. Nothing else is applied — no age factor, no sex factor, no proprietary adjustment, because the underlying data does not support one.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × mass(kg) ÷ 200 kcal = kcal/min × minutes 1.75 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 2.14 kcal/min 2.14 × 60 min = 129 kcal
Calories burned sit by body weight
Energy cost scales with the mass you move, so body weight changes the answer more than anything else.
| Body weight | 15 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min | 90 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg (110 lb) | 23 | 46 | 69 | 92 | 138 |
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 28 | 55 | 83 | 110 | 165 |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | 32 | 64 | 96 | 129 | 193 |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 37 | 74 | 110 | 147 | 221 |
| 90 kg (198 lb) | 41 | 83 | 124 | 165 | 248 |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | 46 | 92 | 138 | 184 | 276 |
| 110 kg (243 lb) | 51 | 101 | 152 | 202 | 303 |
| 120 kg (265 lb) | 55 | 110 | 165 | 221 | 331 |
Figures in kilocalories (the "calories" on food labels). The highlighted row is the 70 kg reference adult used in the headline figure; the highlighted column is one hour.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Every official intensity of sit
The Compendium lists 2 separate sit entries, each with its own measured MET value — from 1 to 2.5. Most calculators collapse all of this into one number. Pick the row that matches what you actually did.
| Variation | MET | kcal/hr at 70 kg | kcal/hr at 90 kg | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| watch television | 1 | 74 | 95 | — |
| playing with animals, light, only active period | 2.5 | 184 | 236 | — |
Codes are 2024 Adult Compendium activity codes. A dash means the code could not be read unambiguously from the published table, so it is left blank rather than guessed — the MET value and description are unaffected.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·2 coded rows·REVIEWED JUL 2026
What 129 calories an hour actually means
At MET 1.75, sit counts as light activity — it uses about 1.75 times the energy your body burns sitting still. For a 70 kg adult that works out to roughly 2 kcal per minute, or 129 kcal across a full hour.
Within home repair, that ranks 24th of 26 activities by energy cost, a little below child care: sitting or kneeling (MET 2) and above reclining with baby (MET 1.5).
Put differently: one hour of sit costs about the same energy as 26 minutes of ordinary walking.
On the food side, a slice of pizza (about 285 kcal) takes roughly 133 minutes of sit to offset at that body weight. That framing is useful for scale, but it is worth saying plainly: exercise and diet are not a ledger that cancels neatly, and appetite tends to rise with activity.
A number this clean is a model. It does not know your gradient, your gear, the wind, or how hard you were actually trying.
Questions
How many calories does sit burn per hour?
About 129 kcal per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, using the Compendium MET value of 1.75. A 90 kg adult burns closer to 165 kcal in the same hour, because energy cost scales almost directly with body mass.
How many calories does 30 minutes of sit burn?
Roughly 64 kcal at 70 kg, 55 kcal at 60 kg and 92 kcal at 100 kg. Halving the time halves the calories — the relationship is linear.
What is the MET value of sit?
1.75, taken as the median of the 2 sit entries in the 2024 Adult Compendium, which range from 1 to 2.5 depending on intensity. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, so MET 1.75 means 1.75 times that rate.
Is this an exact number of calories?
No, and no calculator can give you one. MET values are population averages measured in laboratory conditions; your own figure varies with fitness, technique, terrain, temperature and body composition. Treat these numbers as a solid estimate for planning, not a precise measurement — and treat any device or site claiming three-digit precision with suspicion.
MET value from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Calories computed as MET × 3.5 × weight kg ÷ 200 per minute. General information only — not medical, fitness or nutrition advice. Calorie figures are population estimates and vary between individuals.
